Cheers as man charged over fatal Oakleigh road crash is denied bail

Court reporter for The Age

Loud cheers greeted a magistrate's decision to refuse bail to the man charged over the road crash in Oakleigh at the weekend that claimed the lives of three people.

Brazilian national Nei Lima Da Costa, 29, was remanded in custody on Wednesday after his bail application was refused in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Mr Lima Da Costa was charged following the deaths of pedestrian Anthony Parsons and husband and wife Savvas and Ismini Menelaou, who were passengers in a car hit at the intersection of Warrigal and Dandenong roads about 11.35pm on Sunday.

Three other people who were in the car - Menelaos Menelaou, 35, the son of the couple killed, and his aunt and uncle, Elias and Maria Mesaritis - are in The Alfred hospital. Mr Menelaou was on Tuesday night fighting for his life.

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Mr Parsons was hit just metres in front of his wife, Susan, as the couple crossed Dandenong Road.

Police allege Mr Lima Da Costa was speeding at 120kmh in an 80kmh zone and ran a traffic signal that had been red for 20 seconds when he hit Mr Parsons and then crashed into the Menelaous' car.

Police allege he also had traces of the drug methylamphetamine - commonly known as ice - in his system.

Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg said on Wednesday Mr Lima Da Costa would be an unacceptable risk to the public if he was granted bail, and said there were no bail conditions adequate to reduce those risks.

Clapping and loud cheers from family members of the couple killed and those injured rang out in court when the magistrate refused the accused bail. One man yelled as he walked out of court, while another man called out "thank you, judge".

Mr Lima Da Costa, who had his right arm in a sling underneath a blue shirt, showed no emotion as Mr Rozencwajg announced his decision.

Mr Lima Da Costa was remanded in custody to appear again in court on March 17.

Mr Rozencwajg said the evidence against Mr Lima Da Costa were examples of a ‘‘blatant disregard’’ for the road rules and the safety of others.

He was also concerned Mr Lima Da Costa’s ties to Brazil made him a potential flight risk if released from custody.

Mr Lima Da Costa is charged with three counts of culpable driving causing death, three of negligently causing serious injury and one charge of recklessly engaging in conduct that put a person in danger of death.

Outside court, George Christodoulou, a cousin of one of the people injured, said his family was pleased bail had been denied and that they could now focus on their relatives’ recoveries.

‘‘They’re doing a lot better, one of them has ... had the opportunity to visit his wife in hospital,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re a strong family, we’re all going to stick together. It’s a tragic loss and we’re all feeling it.

‘‘It’s [the presence in court] not even a quarter the size of the family, there are a lot more that couldn’t be here.’’

Earlier, defence lawyer Lisa Mendicino made an application for the court to be closed so the details of a person prepared to offer Mr Lima Da Costa accommodation could be read out.

Ms Mendicino made the application over concerns of a repeat of an altercation on Tuesday, when some of the relatives of the couple killed confronted supporters of the accused man outside court. Mr Lima Da Costa and his Australian wife have an eight-week-old baby.

But Mr Rozencwajg’s ruling made the application redundant.

Mr Lima Da Costa is also charged with a separate speeding offence from an incident in April last year, for which he fronted court last week. That matter will return to court on March 17.